New lifestyles change realty

Changing consumer lifestyles and modern technology anticipating the Fourth Industrial Revolution are changing the real estate market in Vietnam.

Modern concepts like co-living, paired with new technologies, are challenging customers’ and companies’ approach to real estate Photo: Le Toan

According to Mindy Teo, vice president for brand marketing and digital innovation at Ascott, millennials inhabit space completely differently from their parents and grandparents.

"This is a generation which grew up with technology, social media, and the sharing economy. They are highly adaptable and much more willing to share facilities. For one, a pantry is a working area and a networking spot, while a lobby can double up as a yoga space. Millennials are not fond of cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approaches,” Teo said. So it’s no surprise that co-living, defined as a modern, urban type of accommodation with shared living spaces, is beginning to gain traction.

The driving force behind the rising demand for co-living is similar to the reasons behind the popularity of co-working – a mobile generation of young people who demand flexibility, openness, and collaboration.

"Millennials, defined as those born between 1980 and 2000, no longer draw distinctions between business and pleasure, work and play. They have no qualms about being digital nomads, travelling frequently, or relocating for work. More than anything else, they seek experiences and value being part of a community,” Teo cited.

As more technologies are applied globally and e-commerce becomes more widely used, different kinds of living styles will be created in which people can share a common living environment.

A number of co-working spaces have been developed in Vietnam, and in the future, more living spaces and public areas may be shared.

Housing styles are also changing. According to Nguyen Xuan Quang, chairman of housing developer Nam Long Investment Joint Stock Company, five or 10 years ago, consumers bought big houses which could accommodate three generations of a family. Nowadays, consumers are mostly young people who want housing with a good living environment and on a smaller scale.

Luu Thi Thanh Mau, CEO of Phuc Khang Investment and Construction JSC, said that a change has been developing in consumer demand and knowledge. Living standards in Vietnam have been increasing and consumers’ perceptions of a living environment are also very different.

"Now, life does not simply mean having enough food to eat and a place to live. The young, well-educated people earning higher incomes want houses with good living conditions that are friendly to their health and the environment,” Mau said.

With such concerns growing, construction of green housing has increased in recent years in Vietnam with about 100 projects being considered green housing projects.